University Of Michigan Students Develop App To Help Those With Food Allergies

by Emily Marks

Two University of Michigan students developed an app designed to help people with food allergies or special diets. They want to make everyday life easier for people who cannot or prefer not to eat certain types of food.

Ish Baid and Michael Copley, the co-founders of the Edible Project app, created it about a year ago for people with diet restrictions. The UM students want to help them find restaurants and meals that they can enjoy without worrying about their food allergies.

The idea was driven by Copley’s severe dairy allergies. Both are computer software students at the University of Michigan and launched the app about a month ago.

In the Edible Project app’s official website, it was revealed that the app supports the three different diets: vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free. They also provide support for the 8 main food allergies which are dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, eggs, fish, wheat and shellfish. Additional support for other allergies and diets will be coming to the app soon.

Users can vote on food items that they have tried and give their reviews on them as well. The app can also provide information on restaurants’ locations. It is available on the Google Play Store and iTunes.

The Edible Project app is free and focused on the Ann Arbor area for now. It allows users to search by food item, diet or price with filters for milk allergies or vegetarian and vegan diets.

Baid said that they wanted to create a buzz when they launched the app. This is why they delivered over a thousand care packages across the UM campus, some of which included candy, a fortune cookie and a message about the app.

The marketing strategy has worked since the app gained about 200 users during its first two weeks and is now quickly approaching 500. The team has partnered with Ann Arbor restaurants such as Frita Batidos and Tasty Bakery, which helped in the creation of the app.